Dugdale, Richard | A devil of a tale!

Dugdale, Richard

The Surey Demoniack: or, An Account of Satans Strange and Dreadful Actings, In and about the Body of Richard Dugdale of Surey … in Lancashire. London: Printed for Jonathan Robinson, 1697

4to (210 x 159 mm). Title-page within double-ruled border.

First edition. Richard Dugdale ("the Surey demoniac"), born around 1660, was a gardener and servant to Thomas Lister of Westby in Yorkshire. About 1678 he went to a fair and, getting drunk, quarrelled and fought with one of the revellers. Returning to his master's house he claimed to have seen apparitions. The next day, feeling unwell, he was alarmed by a door opening on its own and a mist entering, followed by supernatural appearances. Violent fits ensued. A number of ministers endeavored to exorcise the devil, which Dugdale affirmed possessed him, but without result for at least a year.

Dugdale's notoriety spread and he was visited by several thousand persons. Many made declarations of Dugdale's strange condition. It was claimed that he foretold future events, spoke languages of which he was ignorant, and sometimes with two voices at once, both blasphemous and reverential. He was also reported as possessing extraordinary strength and vomiting a large hair broom.

Lord-Chief-Justice Holt is said to have discovered that the whole affair was an imposture. Dugdale appears to have been hysterical, and with the assistance of his relations seems to have traded on the credulity of his visitors. A number of pamphlets were written, some denouncing him as a cheat, and others supporting the theory of his demoniacal possession.